Esme stood there, her calm and scarce tone barely masking the curiosity she felt. She fixed her gaze on the man in the wheelchair, his expression a picture of indifference.
"So, what are you guys doing here? I don't know if I did something so nice that I have the honor of meeting the Aron brothers."
The figure in the wheelchair, Ray, responded to Esme's words with a look of cold detachment. His gaze remained uninterested as he crossed his legs, one hand resting on his knee while the other casually draped over the armrest.
Ray's eyes narrowed as he leaned closer, his voice dripping with sarcasm.
"Old people really have said the truth. The rope has burned, but the twists remain. Even after you are in this prison with so many charges, your ego is still as high as ever," he sneered, the disdain in his tone palpable.
Instead of reacting with anger, Esme's expression shifted. A slow, knowing smile curved on her lips, and she leaned back against the cold, hard bed, her movements deliberate and unhurried.
She crossed her legs with an air of practiced nonchalance, her fingers lightly drumming on her knee.
"Well, what can I do?" she replied, her voice smooth and composed. "Not everyone can master it, and I never fail at it."
Her eyes glinted with a mix of amusement and defiance, the corners of her mouth twitching in a slight smirk.
Seeing her reaction, Ray's lips twisted into a cold smirk. "Well, true," he began, his voice low and mocking.
"If someone else were in your place, they might have already done everything to get out of here. But you..." He paused, crossing his legs and leaning back in his wheelchair.
His hand rested on the armrest, and he propped his cheek on the same hand, his posture exuding a leisurely arrogance.
"Looks like you're really enjoying yourself here."
Esme's smile remained unwavering. She closed her eyes for a moment, letting his words hang in the air. When she spoke, her tone was casual, almost indifferent.
"Well, true. If someone else was in my position..."
Her eyes snapped open, now icy and piercing, locking onto Ray's with a steely intensity.
"You guys would not be here," she finished, her voice dropping to a deadly whisper.
Ray's smirk faltered for a fraction of a second, but he quickly masked it with a sneer. Esme's unwavering smile and the cold fire in her gaze sent a shiver down his spine.
The room seemed to grow colder, the tension palpable as they locked eyes, each trying to assert their dominance.
Esme's calm, almost serene demeanor in the face of his taunts only deepened the unsettling sense of her unyielding spirit, a stark contrast to the frustration simmering beneath Ray's composed facade.
"Well, true," Ray said, his smile freezing as he raised his right hand in the air and moved his fourth finger.
As soon as he did, Kai, who had been standing silently behind him all this time, nodded and stepped forward, reaching inside his coat to pull out a bundle of papers.
With a swift flick of his wrist, Kai sent the stack of papers flying toward Esme. The paper sliced through the air with a swish, aiming directly for her face.
In a fluid motion, Esme raised her hand and caught the stack just before it hit her, her reflexes sharp and precise.
"Oh my, nice shot," Esme remarked in a teasing tone, her lips curving into a mocking smile. Yet, her eyes remained cold, like a predator sizing up its prey.
Kai met her glare without a trace of fear, his own lips curling into a smirk.
"Well, I get that a lot," he replied, his voice dripping with smugness. The tension between them crackled like electricity, each daring the other to make the next move.
Ray watched the exchange with a satisfied gleam in his eyes, reveling in the power play.
Esme's eyes narrowed slightly, her calm exterior never wavering as she reached for the paper. She unfolded it with deliberate slowness, her movements measured and precise. Her expression remained unreadable, a perfect match for Ray's cold, emotionless facade.
She raised an eyebrow, her tone light and mocking. "What is this?"
Before Ray could answer, his brother Kai, standing behind him, chimed in with a charismatic edge to his voice. "Oh, and here I thought that you were literate enough to read."
Esme's lips curled into a sly smile as she turned her gaze to Kai. "Well, I also hear that you're a baby boy who always follows his brother like a chick following its mother. Now it looks like it's true."
"You...",Kai's expression darkened, his teeth gritting in anger as he took a step forward, fury evident in his eyes. But before he could take another step, Ray waved his hand, stopping him in his tracks.
"Enough, Kai," Ray said, his tone still as cold and controlled as ever. Turning his attention back to Esme, he continued in a simple tone, as if stating a fact.
"It states that we are agreeing to marry as husband and wife and take responsibility for all our affairs," Ray said, his voice carrying a calculated edge.
A flicker of expression formed on Esme's face—an almost imperceptible twitch that betrayed her initial reaction—before she quickly masked it with her usual calm and indifferent demeanor.
"And?" Esme asked, her voice laced with a cold glint. She knew there had to be more for these men to be here.
Ray's expression hardened, his tone turning serious and dominating. "It also states that you need to stay with us until any of us brothers get pregnant and give birth to an heir."
Esme's amusement vanished instantly, replaced by a completely cold and indifferent expression. Her eyes turned to ice as she processed his words. "I will pretend I have not heard anything," she said, her voice steady and unwavering. "So please, leave."
In this world, what Esme hated most was when someone used relationships, especially marriage, as a mere tool. She despised even more when children were dragged into such schemes. The business world had become a place where people feigned love publicly while living secret lives privately. The ones who suffered the most were the children, born only to fulfill the so-called need for an heir.
Ray's dominating stance faltered for a moment as he met her icy glare. He hadn't expected such a vehement reaction. Kai, still standing nearby, watched the exchange with a keen eye, noting the shift in Esme's demeanor.
Esme's fingers tightened around the stack of papers she held, the edges crumpling under her grip. Her calm exterior belied the storm brewing inside her. The disdain she felt for their proposal was palpable, radiating from her like a cold front.
"Leave," she repeated, her voice dropping to a dangerous whisper. The air in the room seemed to thicken with tension, the silence stretching uncomfortably as Ray and Kai absorbed her rejection.
Kai's smirk faded, replaced by a more serious expression. He glanced at Ray, who gave a slight nod.
"Miss Esme, it would be wise to think about it with a calmer mind," Ray said in a serious tone, his resolve evident.